The Westminster School, Dubai

Year 4

Subject :English Reinforcement Worksheet Date:12th Nov,2021

Topic: Comprehension
The Carpet Fitter

Read the passage and answer the following questions.

Eddie was a carpet fitter, and he hated it. For ten years he had spent his days sitting, squatting,
kneeling or crawling on floors, in houses, offices, shops, factories and restaurants. Ten years of
his life, cutting and fitting carpets for other people to walk on, without even seeing them. When
his work was done, no-one ever appreciated it. No- one ever said "Oh, that's a beautiful job, the
carpet fits so neatly." They just walked all over it. Eddie was sick of it.
He was especially sick of it on this hot, humid day in August, as he worked to put the
finishing touches to today's job. He was just cutting and fixing the last edge on a huge red
carpet which he had fitted in the living room of Mrs. Vanbrugh's house. Rich Mrs. Vanbrugh,
who changed her carpets every year, and always bought the best. Rich Mrs. Vanbrugh, who had
never even given him a cup of tea all day, and who made him go outside when he wanted to
smoke. Ah well, it was four o'clock and he had nearly finished. At least he would be able to get
home early today. He began to day-dream about the weekend, about the Saturday football
game he always played for the local team, where he was known as "Ed the Head" for his skill in
heading goals from corner kicks.
Eddie sat back and sighed. The job was done, and it was time for a last cigarette. He began
tapping the pockets of his overalls, looking for the new packet of Marlboro he had bought that
morning. They were not there.
It was as he swung around to look in his toolbox for the cigarettes that Eddie saw the lump.
Right in the middle of the brand new bright red carpet, there was a lump. A very visible lump. A
lump the size of -- the size of a packet of cigarettes.
"Blast!" said Eddie angrily. "I've done it again! I've left the cigarettes under the blasted
carpet!"
He had done this once before, and taking up and refitting the carpet had taken him two
hours. Eddie was determined that he was not going to spend another two hours in this house.
He decided to get rid of the lump another way. It would mean wasting a good packet of
cigarettes, nearly full, but anything was better than taking up the whole carpet and fitting it
again. He turned to his toolbox for a large hammer.
 Holding the hammer, Eddie approached the lump in the carpet. He didn't want to damage
the carpet itself, so he took a block of wood and placed it on top of the lump. Then he began to
beat the block of wood as hard as he could. He kept beating, hoping Mrs. Vanbrugh wouldn't
hear the noise and come to see what he was doing. It would be difficult to explain why he was
hammering the middle of her beautiful new carpet.
After three or four minutes, the lump was beginning to flatten out. Eddie imagined the
cigarette box breaking up, and the crushed cigarettes spreading out under the carpet. Soon, he
judged that the lump was almost invisible. Clearing up his tools, he began to move the furniture
back into the living room, and he was careful to place one of the coffee tables over the place
where the lump had been, just to make sure that no-one would see the spot where his
cigarettes had been lost. Finally, the job was finished, and he called Mrs. Vanbrugh from the
dining room to inspect his work.
"Yes, dear, very nice," said the lady, peering around the room briefly. "You'll be sending me a
bill, then?"
"Yes madam, as soon as I report to the office tomorrow that the job is done." Eddie picked
up his tools, and began to walk out to the van. Mrs. Vanbrugh accompanied him. She seemed a
little worried about something.
"Young man," she began, as he climbed into the cab of his van, laying his toolbox on the
passenger seat beside him, "while you were working today, you didn't by any chance see any
sign of Armand, did you? Armand is my parakeet. A beautiful bird, just beautiful, such colors in
his feathers... I let him out of his cage, you see, this morning, and he's disappeared. He likes to
walk around the house, and he's so good, he usually just comes back to his cage after an hour
or so and gets right in. Only today he didn't come back. He's never done such a thing before, it's
most peculiar..."

"No, madam, I haven't seen him anywhere," said Eddie, as he reached to start the van.
And saw his packet of Marlboro cigarettes on the dashboard, where he had left it at
lunchtime...
And began to feel rather sick....

Credits:
Story: MDH 1994 — from a common urban legend
Audio version performed by Peter Polgar.
Answer the following questions:
1.Why did Eddie hate being a carpet-fitter?
a. The pay was too low.
b. He didn't like working alone.
c. No-one appreciated his work.
d. He couldn't smoke on the job.

2.What was Eddie’s view point about Mrs. Vanbrugh?

a. She was a kind, thoughtful lady.
b. She was rich and selfish.
c. She was always losing things.
d. She had good taste in furniture

4. "Eddie was determined...." means that he:

a. had no idea
b. decided for sure
c. felt very angry
d. couldn't decide

5.Why didn't Eddie remove the carpet to take out the thing that was causing the lump?

a. He couldn't take the carpet up once he had fitted it.

b. He didn't need the cigarettes because he had some more in the van.
c. It would take too long to remove the carpet and re-fit it.
d. He intended to come back and remove the lump the next day.
6. "Peculiar" in the sentence "He's never done such a thing before, it's most peculiar..." means:
a. normal
b. like a bird
c. difficult
d. strange
7. Why was Eddie called "Ed the Head" by his friends?
8. What was really under the carpet?
9. What would you do if you were in place of Eddie about the end of this situation?
10. Eddie worked quickly because he wanted Mrs Vanbrugh to see him hammer the
carpet.(yes/no)
11. When he had flattened the lump, he asked Mrs Vanbrugh to inspect the new
carpet.(yes/no)
12. Pick out a word that has both prefix and suffix in it.